1860 Census Data

After raw cotton was ginned of its seeds, huge cotton presses were used to form it into uniform bales for shipping and marketing. Advances in technology allowed the continued growth of the cotton industry well after the end of slavery. This engraving is from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, published in October, 1877.
Image Credit: Collection of the New-York Historical Society

Five myths about why the South seceded

New Material

Through primary and secondary source documents, students will examine five immediate causes of the Civil War (see learning objectives). In mixed ability cooperative learning group, students will complete document analysis worksheets. Upon completion of these worksheets, students will cooperatively write an oral argument as to whether their cause was related to slavery or states rights. After hearing from each of the groups, students will write a persuasive BCR (Brief Constructed Response). Was the Civil War a war to end slavery or to protect states' rights?

New Material:

The Kentucky Resolutions were drafted in secret by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the fall of 1798 to counter the perceived threat to constitutional liberties from the Alien and Sedition Acts. These federal laws limited naturalization rights and free speech by declaring public criticism of government officials to be seditious libel, punishable by imprisonment and fines. Jefferson's draft resolutions claimed states had the right to nullify federal laws and acts that violated the Constitution. The Kentucky Resolutions were passed, and the role Jefferson and Madison played in drafting them was kept secret throughout their years of public service.

Practice

Students will continue to practice primary and secondary source document analysis

Document Analysis

Causes of Civil War Big Ideas

Assessment

Students will write a persuasive BCR (Brief Constructed Response). Was the Civil War a war to end slavery or to protect states' rights? The BCR will be assessed using the DC-CAS rubric.

Closure and Reflection

[The closure of a lesson should directly tie the new material, student practice, instructional objectives, and assessment together. It should also connect this lesson to the previous lesson and link to the next lesson(s). In this is space you can also include your notes about how the lesson went. You should indicate what worked well, what was problematic, ideas for modifying the lesson for future use, and how this particular lesson ties in with others in the same curricular unit.]